A convicted sex offender jailed for contacting underage girls on secret tablet

Anthony Metcalfe, 34, was sentenced to two years and eight months for breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and notification requirements. He had been convicted in 2015 of three sexual assaults on children and was a registered sex offender for life.

Metcalfe, from Hartlepool, used a secret digital tablet to contact a number of girls under the age of 16 on Snapchat. He adopted an alias and sent messages including "nice bum" and "beautiful" to the girls, who ranged in age from 12 to 15.

His illicit tablet was discovered by police during a visit from his police offending manager on May 10. Police checks identified six of his Snapchat friends were under 16.

The court heard that Metcalfe has 25 convictions for 47 offences, including failing to tell a mother he was visiting at her home that he was a convicted sex offender.

Stephen Constantine, defending, said that Metcalfe may have an underlying mental health condition, but Judge Howard Crowson said he had "real anxiety about the risk that you pose."

"These are serious and persistent breaches, contact with six different children, some really young and at risk of very serious harm," Judge Crowson said.